Accessing digital content such as Web pages or multimedia files over mobile communications networks has tremendously increased in the last decade. This increase can partially be attributed to the introduction of smartphones, tablet computers and similar types of user terminals with large display areas. At the same time high data throughout capabilities of modern mobile communications networks guarantee a satisfactory user experience when downloading large content volumes.
An important prerequisite for accessing content via a mobile communications network is a pre-established relationship to an operator of the mobile communications network. Such a relationship may manifest itself in the form of a Subscriber Identity Module (SIM) card in the user terminal, in a valid subscription (e.g., a mobile Internet subscription) or roaming agreement, and so on. The pre-established relationship needs to be verified on a network side in a connection setup phase between the user terminal and the mobile communications network. The verification includes authentication and authorization procedures. In case a user terminal cannot be authenticated, or in case it is found that the user terminal is not (sufficiently) authorized, the user terminal will be prevented from accessing content via the mobile communications network.
The requirement of a pre-established operator relationship to access content via a mobile communications network limits usability of conventional mobile communications networks. It would often be desirable to provide content of public interest also to user terminals with no dedicated relationship to an operator of a locally available mobile communications network. As an example, tourists in foreign countries without local knowledge would profit from an easy access to content of public interest, such as a weather forecast, a map of the surrounding area, contact details of a nearby hospital or police office, and so on.